


Sticks to My Bones

by Silvarbelle



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Fat Shaming, First Kiss, First Time, M/M, Murder Mystery, No Sex, Poisoning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-22
Updated: 2014-08-22
Packaged: 2018-02-14 05:05:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2179014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvarbelle/pseuds/Silvarbelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I am afraid Kamekona is correct, gentlemen.  I have sent samples to the lab with orders for rush processing.  I am fairly certain my hunch will be found correct: Miss Pualani and the other two women were poisoned."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sticks to My Bones

**Author's Note:**

> (for those of you who are squeamish about bodily fluids even being mentioned, you might wanna skip the part where Steve and Danny investigate Pualani's house.)

**"I find no sweeter fat than sticks to my own bones." ~Walt Whitman**

 

 

Danny Williams and Steve McGarrett came through the double glass doors of 5-0 Headquarters already arguing.

Of course, they were also dirty, disheveled, and there was a bruise on Danny’s face that was beginning to darken.

“—not even ten in the morning! Not even _ten in the **morning**_ , McGarrett, and you’ve already gotten me bruised and dirty!” Danny yelled.

“Look, I’m _sorry_ , Danny! I’m sorry about your face, but I assumed you’d rather _keep it_ than lose it in the explosion!”

“Yes! The _explosion!_ The explosion that has taken place before a civilized hour because Rambo the Pyrotechnic SEAL has already blown something up on this godforsaken island! The only actual surprise is that you didn’t lob a bomb made out of a pineapple!”

“A _pineapple?_ Okay, first of all—“

“No! I will _not_ hear anything about how a pineapple can or cannot be made into a bomb via the scary knowledge of your SEAL training! Okay? Thanks! Just _no_.”

“You’re the one who brought it up! But—“

Danny stopped short in front of his office, ignoring Chin and Kono who were watching with wide-eyed amusement from the Surface Table. He squinted up at Steve, who was scowling down at him.

“No ‘buts’, Steven!” he snapped, slicing his hand through the air in a negative gesture. “I have nearly been blown up by my partner who has an overenthusiastic fondness for explosive devices!”

“I didn’t know they were stockpiling more of them in the shed, Danny!”

Danny’s squint intensified.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Look, we’re alive, right? And the Camaro doesn’t have a scratch on it!”

“No, that’s because _I_ took the brunt of it when you tackled me _face down_ on _concrete!_ ”

Chin and Kono winced.

“Again—“

“No ‘again’, either! I accept that working with you means that my life will most likely end in the midst of a fireworks display of explosives, but for now – for _now_ , Steven – I am going to get changed into clean clothing and soothe myself with a cup of excellent coffee and as many malasadas as I want without any input from you before I start in on the paperwork for today’s ruckus!”

With that, Danny stepped into his office and slammed the door in Steve’s face.

Steve threw his hands into the air and stalked off to his own office.

“Rough morning, brah?” Chin asked as his boss went past him.

Steve snorted. “One little grenade and he loses his _mind_ , I swear!”

“Yeah – maybe if you didn’t keep stashing them in the car he uses to drive Grace around? Just a thought.”

Steve gave Chin a sour glare, ignored the grin he got in return, and stomped into his own office to change into one of the spare shirts he kept there.

Kono was busy eyeballing Danny’s naked torso until Danny turned, saw her doing it, and yanked the blinds down over the glass walls of his office. She shrugged and turned to her cousin. “Boss is gonna have to do some fast talking to calm Other Boss down on this one.”

“Maybe even buy him beer for a change instead of the other way around,” Chin agreed.

“ _That_ is an excellent idea!” Danny shouted. “Hear that, McGarrett? You’re picking up the tab for a change!”

“Pick _this_ , Danny!” Steve yelled back, flying a middle finger high and strong in the direction of Daniel’s office.

“ _Blinds_ , dumbass! But I still bet you’re giving me the finger!”

“Awww – you’re such a _good_ detective, Daniel!”

“Damned right I am, you psychotic yard-ape!”

“ _Sea_ -ape, thanks!”

Chin ducked his head to hide a smile while Kono openly snickered.

Danny stormed out of his office, tucking a clean shirt into his still-okay-to-wear pants and began fastening those while Steve emerged from his office, tugging his clean shirt down to his waist.

They charged at each other, slamming to a halt well within personal space, and were both getting ready for round three when Kono said, “Kamekona?”

Danny and Steve blinked at each other, and then swung around to face the double-doors where Kamekona stood with a despondent look on his face.

Immediately, Steve broke away from Danny. “Hey. Hey, Kamekona. What’s wrong, buddy?”

Kamekona heaved a big, wet sigh. With watery eyes, he looked at Steve plaintively and said, “I think my niece was murdered.”

 

*~*~*

 

It took some time to get Kamekona calmed down to a state where he could talk. After he’d answered Steve, he’d broken down into tears while hugging the SEAL, who’d staggered a little in response before hugging him back.

Steve got Kamekona into his office while Kono got him a cup of coffee, and then they all gathered around the entrepreneur to hear out his story.

“Okay, Kamekona,” Steve murmured. “Let’s take it from the top, alright?”

Kamekona gave a shivery sigh and nodded. “Yeah, brah.”

“Okay. So – your niece is dead?”

Kamekona’s eyes squeezed shut. “Yeah. Yeah, man. I found her in her bathroom.”

Kono and Chin exchanged sad looks while Steve reached out to catch hold of Kamekona’s shoulder and squeeze comfortingly.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Steve said, his voice soft with sympathy. “Tell us why you think she was murdered.”

Kamekona nodded, blinking his eyes open to look up at Steve. “My niece… she’s like – _was_ like – _is_ like…? Whatever. Like the rest of us, she’s built hefty, yeah? And the way she died, brah… it was bad. But the thing is, a couple other women have died the same way in the past couple weeks. I think somebody’s targeting big women, man, and my niece got caught in it.”

Chin frowned and went to retrieve a tablet. He came back, nodding. “Okay, yeah – it’s here that two other big women have died, but there’s really nothing about it.”

Danny grimaced while Kono took the tablet to read. “What nothing? Maybe something? They died from heart attacks from being overweight?”

Kamekona glared at him and Danny shrugged.

“Nah, man,” Kono murmured. “Just that they died. One’s native, other’s tourist.” She made a sad face at Kamekona. “Brah, I’m sorry – I really am – but maybe it’s just coincidence?”

Kamekona’s glare transferred to her. “You for real? I expect this from a _haole_ , sistah, but where’s the love? I tell you something’s wrong and you think they died just ‘cause they’re _fat?_ ”

“Hey, whoa!” Kono protested, with Danny joining in. “Look, dude, unless you got proof—“

Kamekona snorted. “What? Three fat ladies can’t die like that and nobody thinks it’s _strange?_ ”

“Okay, okay – calm down!” Steve ordered. “You two are right on a technicality – there’s no hard evidence except this coincidence. But a Sheriff I once spoke to said that once is chance, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a pattern. This looks a lot like a pattern.”

“ _Thank_ you!” Kamekona snapped, nodding.

Steve pointed a warning finger at Danny, who raised his hands and made a “whatever” face. Then, Steve focused on Kamekona again.

“Okay, so here’s what’s gonna happen,” he said. “We’ll look into it – but I can’t promise we’ll actually find anything, alright? I can’t make that promise. Don’t be surprised if there’s nothing to be found.”

Kamekona snorted. “Yeah, ‘cause nobody _wants_ to find out anything about fatties! Everybody thinks they got the answer to us; thinks they got us all figured out, but don’t nobody know _nothin’!_ HPD the same way when I tried to say somethin’ about this.”

“You went to HPD about it first?” Chin asked, frowning. “Why not just come straight to us?”

Kamekona shrugged and hung his head. “You guys go after shootings and bombings and kidnappings. This is just some fat chicks.”

Steve squeezed his shoulder again. “Hey – hey, no. We’re here for the people of Hawai’i, brah. We’re here for anyone who needs help. You did good comin’ to us, man. We’ll check it out for you, okay? I just can’t make promises we’ll find what you think might be there.”

Kamekona sighed and nodded. “I get it, man. I do.”

“Okay. Where’s your niece now?”

“Coroner’s office got her ‘cause of suspicious death.”

“Alright. Chin—“

“On it,” Chin replied, and left the room.

Kamekona watched him go and then directed a questioning grunt at Steve.

Steve gave him a sympathetic smile. “He’s gonna call Max down at the Medical Examiner’s office. Max is probably the one working on her. We’re gonna need you to tell him we have permission to get involved in his findings since you’re the one bringing this to us.”

Kamekona nodded. “Yeah, man – ‘course.”

Chin came back in with his cellphone and held it out to Kamekona, who took it and talked with Max for a few moments before clearly and definitively authorizing permission for 5-0 to get involved. He handed it back and slumped onto the sofa, tears dampening his eyes again.

“We’ll look into it, big guy,” Kono promised quietly.

Kamekona gave her a grateful look. “Mahalo.”

 

*~*~*~*

 

The team split up; Chin and Kono doing more digging into the two previous deaths while Steve and Danny headed to the M.E.’s office to check in with Max.

“You could’ve been nicer to Kamekona is all I’m saying, Danny,” Steve said as they entered the building.

“I was perfectly nice to him!” Danny protested.

“I’m just saying you were kind of insensitive, is all.”

“I was not!”

“Ah, 5-0!” Max called out as they arrived in his examining room. “I’m sorry to see you again so soon for reasons related to work.”

“Yeah,” Steve said, reaching out to clap the shorter man’s shoulder. “What’ve you got?”

Max led them over to the figure on the examining table; a hefty, dark tan woman discreetly covered by a sheet.

“What I’ve got is Miss Pualani – which translates to ‘Heaven’s Flower’, in case you were interested,” Max replied.

Danny snorted. “Looks more like Heaven’s Entire Garden, you ask me.”

Steve turned an incredulous stare on his partner even as Max’s affable expression shifted to one of open disdain.

“I did not ask you,” he replied, his tone cold, and Danny blinked at him. “If you’re done speaking ill of the dead?”

“What? I wasn’t! I just—“

“Zip it, Danny!” Steve snapped. He held up a warning finger in the blond man’s face, prompting an outraged expression from Danny. “Go on, Max.”

“As you both know, Miss Pualani is Kamekona’s niece.” Max paused to give Danny another censuring glare, which he shrugged off. “Given that, and that she was hale and hearty when last I saw her, I decided to look into the matter personally even before Chin called. Pualani died frightened and in a lot of pain, gentlemen.”

“How, Max?” queried Steve.

“Before her heart stopped, she suffered violent nausea, diarrhea, and seizures.”

“Okay, that’s sad – and a little gross – but what’s got your hinky radar pinging?” Danny asked.

“My ‘hinky radar’, as you put it, is going off because two other women suffered the same fate recently.”

Steve and Danny glanced at each other before Steve said, “The local and the tourist? Chin found out about them online when Kamekona came to us. He thinks it’s murder.”

“I am afraid Kamekona is correct, gentlemen. I have sent samples to the lab with orders for rush processing. I am fairly certain my hunch will be found correct: Miss Pualani and the other two women were poisoned. My choices are rhododendron, azaleas, or oleander. Given that oleander works immediately, whereas rhododendrons or azaleas have a delay of six hours, I’d put my money on the latter two.”

“Okay; thanks, Max. Call me once you know for sure. We’re gonna go talk to Kamekona some more.”

“Certainly, Commander.”

They said their goodbyes. Danny noticed that Max ignored him when he spoke and simply rolled his eyes and followed Steve out.

They got into the Camaro and headed over to Kamekona’s shave ice stand where he’d told them he’d be.

“I’m not certain I buy this poison thing,” Danny muttered. “Certainly, it’s probably something they ate – as if _that_ narrows it down.”

“I’m sensing some aggravation, here,” Steve snapped back.

“I’ve _been_ aggravated ever since a certain adrenaline junkie decided to blow up a shed not five feet from me! Now, instead of catching up on paperwork and maybe taking the afternoon to relax from my harrowing ordeal, I’m off on a wild goose chase just because a couple of fat chicks died!”

“That is – never mind the ‘harrowing ordeal’, part, Danny, because we usually handle worse—”

“I know! That’s what I’m—”

“—but I’m _really_ surprised at how cavalier you’re being about this.”

“Cavalier? No, sir, I am _not_ cavalier! Yes, it is sad that these women died in such a grotesque and horrible way! It’s sad they died at all! But while I think it might be food poisoning – of the regular kind – I’m not certain it’s actual murder and I resent being dragged out for what will probably amount to just that: regular food poisoning, probably botulism!”

“Except that Max told us what he suspects and Max is the one with the medical degree! Every time he’s had a theory, it turned out to be correct – why not this time?”

“If it is this time, then I’m sorry that people are being murdered – Jesus, am I sorry! – but come on!”

“Come on _what_ , Danny? What exactly—“

“I’m just sayin’ that this is kind of ridiculous—“

“It isn’t ridiculous to Kamekona!” Steve shouted. “Okay? So whatever your problem is—“

“My _problem?_ ”

“—yeah, your problem! Whatever it is, put a lid on it, will ya? We’re here! Let’s go dig some more information out of him.”

Danny scowled and followed Steve out of the car and over to the shave ice stand. Kamekona greeted them with a smile, but when Steve said he needed to ask a few questions, Kamekona suggested they could buy some of his tourist junk to soften him up a little.

“Do what now? Oh, no, my friend, it doesn’t work that way this time,” Danny retorted with a smirk. “ _You_ came to _us_. _You_ are asking the favor. Ergo, you want the case looked into, you do not force us to pay for information you should be handing over anyway!”

“I am in a time of _grief_ , brah! Any little bit helps! Got funeral expenses to pay for, yeah?”

“Danny’s got a point this time, Kamekona.”

“This time? _This_ time? I _always_ have a point—”

“We spoke to Max,” Steve interjected, cutting Danny off before he could really get going, “who’s got suspicions about foul play, too. If that’s true – if people are being murdered – then we need all the help we can get sooner rather than later.”

Kamekona sighed. “Yeah, I hear you, brah. What do you need?”

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“Five or six hours before I found her. She seemed okay at the time, you know? She’d stopped to say hi on her way home from work; she got off early ‘cause she had a tummy ache, she said.”

“That’s a lot of ache,” Danny muttered.

At that, Kamekona reacted. He came down out of his shave ice stand, furious and ready to do battle. Danny’s eyes widened and he began backing up a little.

Steve got between them and slammed his hands against Kamekona’s chest, pushing, preventing him from getting to Danny. 

“Whoa!” he shouted. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Settle down!”

“I’ll ‘settle’ him!” Kamekona snarled, jabbing a finger at Danny. “He got no right—!”

“I know! I know, man, okay? He’s gonna go wait in the car—“

“Like hell I am!” Danny shot back, and then froze as Steve turned and pinned him with a glare that damn near peeled his skin off.

“Go – wait – in the car,” Steve growled, his tone ice cold.

Unnerved, Daniel turned and went to sit in the Camaro. He got settled in the passenger seat – too used to being a passenger in his own car to even think about taking the driver’s side – and watched as Kamekona glowered in his direction before focusing back on Steve. He sighed as he watched them talk. He’d pushed too far with that one, he knew. He’d hurt Kamekona; he’d have to apologize for it later.

The two men finished their talk and Steve gave Kamekona a bro-hug before rejoining Danny in the Camaro.

“You’re not welcome at the shave ice or the shrimp truck for a while,” Steve said curtly as he backed the car out of its parking spot and began threading into traffic.

“Yeah, I _gathered_ that, thanks,” Danny muttered. 

He waited for a sarcastic retort or something else, but Steve didn’t say a word. In fact, it was several minutes before Danny realized he was being given the cold shoulder.

“Okay,” he said, discomfited enough to break the silence. “Okay, look, I admit I went too far. I was just trying to crack a joke, alleviate the tension—”

“You really think Kamekona’s in the mood for _fat jokes_ – which aren’t as funny as you think they are – concerning the death of his _niece?_ Really, Daniel?”

“I took it too far, okay? I admit that! I’ll apologize to him properly! I’d do it now if we weren’t driving away somewhere! Where _are_ we going, anyway?”

“To Pualani’s house. Kamekona gave us keys and permission to look around – if you can stand being in the house of a ‘fat chick’, that is.”

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, Daniel. Come on, we’re here.”

“No, _not_ ‘nothing’! You obviously meant something by that statement!”

“Like _you_ meant it with that fat crack?”

“Look, what is your _problem?_ ”

“My _problem_ is that you are being more than a little insensitive right now! I know you can be a real asshole when you wanna be, Danny, but I didn’t know it went _this_ far!”

“ _I’m_ an—? Okay. Okay, _wow_. You and me need to talk.”

“You’re damned right we do, but not right now. _Now_ , we need to look around for clues. Whatever fat-shaming commentary you think you need to make? Keep it to yourself.”

With that, Steve slammed out of the Camaro and stormed toward Pualani’s house. Danny watched him go and realized that Steve was actually, truly very angry with him. It was rare that Steve was angry with him; at least, this level of angry and it was never an easy thing. Recognizing that, Danny bit back on the diatribe he wanted to unleash and silently followed his partner into the house.

Pualani’s house was a one-floor, two bed, one bath bungalow. Someone had done a hasty cleaning job, but the odor of intense sickness still lingered and they covered their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs.

Steve led the way over to the bathroom, Danny following, and they looked in. The bathroom had been scrubbed a bit better, but the smell was still strongest there.

Steve gestured at the toilet. “Kamekona says he wanted to check up on her ‘cause she hadn’t been feeling well. He smelled the mess and found her here, slumped in front of the toilet, in a puddle of her own excretions. She was unresponsive, barely breathing, and by the time the emergency responders arrived, she’d stopped.”

Danny gagged and turned away, wandering off toward the kitchen. He searched there for any likely signs of food gone bad or accidental ingestion of a chemical substance, but was called away by Steve. He found his partner in what was clearly Pualani’s bedroom and grimaced at the stripped bed and the light marks of cleaning fluid smeared onto the tile floor at spaced out intervals.

“Looks like she tried to nap off the sick feeling, but it got started in here,” Steve said. “She left a trail on her way to the bathroom.”

Danny nodded. “Yeah. I found the fridge and the freezer stocked with Weight Watcher and Jenny Craig stuff. Looks like she was trying to lose weight.”

Steve nodded, too. “Yeah; Kamekona said Pualani was recently trying to lose some weight. Her doctor had her on thyroid meds and had warned she was heading for heart problems and other complications if she didn’t take her meds and try to change her lifestyle.”

“Which was what prior to now?”

“She was an area, cultural, and ethnic studies teacher. She held informational classes for whoever wanted to learn more about the Hawaiian people and the history of Oahu. Grace probably even met her, ‘cause Pualani would guest lecture at schools.”

Danny frowned at that. He hated it when anything about a case came close to his daughter.

The two of them continued searching Pualani’s house, but nothing really stood out to either of them as a likely culprit. They retreated outside to lean against the Camaro while they called Chin and Kono for an information exchange.

 _“The other two women are Makamae Kealoha, a local woman, and Tiffany Appleton, a tourist,”_ Chin explained. _“Kealoha was a student at Honolulu U in the nursing program. Appleton was an insurance telemarketer on vacation, staying at the Kahala.”_

“Pualani was a cultural teacher,” Steve replied. “Maybe there’s a connection there?”

_“That doesn’t account for Tiffany, though. What did Max have to say?”_

“He thinks they were poisoned,” Danny put in. “I’m still thinking it’s a case of botulism, but whatever. Pualani was on thyroid meds and was trying to lose weight; had Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig stuff in her pantry. Anything similar on the other two?”

 _“Appleton’s body and belongings have already been recovered and taken home,”_ said Chin. _“Kono can put in a call to her family and check if you want? As for Miss Kealoha, she had a prescription for blood pressure meds, but none actually in her possession. I dunno if she was also trying to lose weight.”_

At that, Kono snorted. _“What woman **isn’t** trying to lose weight?”_

“Whaddya mean, Kono?” asked Steve, frowning.

_“Are you kidding? Pay attention to the media sometime. You’ll see it’s designed to make us ladies feel like we’re failing some aesthetic standard and we have to starve ourselves or buy this style clothes or whatever to finally be good enough. And it goes the other way, too. You wouldn’t believe how many people have told me I’m too skinny; that I need to put on weight so I’d be ‘prettier’ and ‘sexier’. The media has brainwashed the world, man. Magazines – especially those for teens – implant the idea that women gotta look a certain way or we’re **worthless**.”_

Danny scowled. Grace was getting closer to puberty. She was a lovely little girl, but the time _was_ coming when puberty would hit and she’d start caring a whole lot more about what other people thought of the way she looked. He’d have to have a talk with Rachel and see what they could do about limiting her media influence. No way did he want his daughter destroying herself just because some high-gloss rag implied she wasn’t good enough.

Steve nodded, frowning. “So, what you’re saying is, we might have a connection on the dieting angle?”

_“Maybe. Bet you a round that Tiffany’s family will say she was trying to lose weight, too.”_

“Sucker bet, no dice – I believe you. Okay; Kono, get in touch with Tiffany’s family; find out if she was on any meds that stand out. Chin, check with Max; see if the results have come back yet.”

Steve hung up the call and moved to open the driver’s side door, which prompted Danny to move for the passenger side. “Where are we going now?”

Steve gave him a level stare just before getting into the car.

“You and I are gonna have that talk now.”

 

*~*~*~*

 

Steve drove them to nearby Ala Wai Park. When the car was parked, they both stayed in the vehicle. The noonday heat was atrocious and air conditioning would keep Danny talking. Plus, being in the car restricted anyone else from overhearing them.

A fact that Steve tried to test as he turned and started yelling at his partner.

“ _What_ in the hell is the matter with you, Danny?”

“What the hell is _my_ matter? Are you _kidding_ me right now?”

“No, not even a little bit! Danny! You are usually the one offering comfort and compassion to grieving relatives; you are the one who talks people into giving us what we want, but now? Right now? You have the diplomacy of a _tank!_ ”

“Oh, so _you_ , basically, right?”

“ _Damn it_ , Danny! What is _with_ you? You’ve insulted Kamekona, you insulted Pualani…! What? You got beef with fat people?”

“Not _beef_ , so much, just… I don’t see the point in… why are you so bent out of shape, anyway?! Mr. Gung-Ho Navy SEAL, swims ten miles in the morning and constantly nagging about _my_ eating habits – _what?_ I expected _you_ to have a problem with people letting themselves go!”

“What people choose to do as fully-realized, free-thinking adults is _their business_ , Danny!”

“Except when it comes to me? Is _that_ why I can’t have a malasada in peace?”

“ _Danny!_ ”

“ _What?_ I’m just sayin’—”

“ _Stop_ saying and _listen_. You’re a – you’re a _bigot_ , okay? You’re being a bigot, a _bully_ , and I can’t _believe_ you about this right now!”

“ _I am not—_ ”

“Would you let this happen to Gracie?”

“Would I – _no_ , okay? I wouldn’t let Grace ruin her health—”

“ _No_ , Daniel! Pretend, just for a moment, that Grace is fat, okay? Not ‘chubby’, not ‘cuddle-sized’, not any cute euphemism—”

“But that’s where you’re wrong, my friend, because I would never let—”

Steve gave a sharp intake of breath and the _look_ on his face suggested he was just about out of patience. Danny grimaced and gave in.

“Okay, fine! Grace is fat and she’s probably getting teased for it – _just like she’s being teased for being haole, by the way—_ ”

“Yeah, that’s great. Okay, so say she’s _fat_. Now, think back, Danny, ‘cause I’m sure you had a few things to say to the fat kids in your school.”

“I had a – are you _kidding_ me?”

“ _Daniel_.”

Danny sighed, but nodded. Memories swam to the forefront of his conscious thought and he winced a little. “I wasn’t – I didn’t beat up on anybody!”

“Not physically, maybe, but what about _words?_ What about _pranks?_ ”

“I… said a few things, but I didn’t…”

“What? _Mean_ them? Or mean them to _be_ mean? You were just _joking_ , right, Danny? It was funny for _you_ to… what? Make them _cry?_ To watch them be hurt and get upset and _hate_ you for it?”

Danny flinched and looked out the window.

“So, say Gracie was going through this. What would you _do_ , Danny? Tell her it’s all her fault? That she has no choice; if she wants the teasing to stop, she’ll just have to lose weight?”

“I – it _would_ make the—”

“ _Bullshit_ , Danny! Bullshit, and you _know_ it. She’d just get teased about having _been_ fat or there’d be some other reason. Kids can be _vicious_ when they wanna be and you know it.”

“Okay, fine! Your point! You supposedly had one?”

“You’re gonna sit there and _admit_ to me that you wouldn’t defend your own daughter? You’d leave her to hurt feelings, maybe losing her sanity a bit, maybe losing her _will to live—_ ”

“ _Do not fucking—_ ”

Danny didn’t even finish his sentence as he twisted around in his seat, trying to strike at his partner. Steve easily deflected the hits and then caught his arms, forcing them down as he glared at his friend.

“Tell me, Danny, that you’d _blame Grace_ for being so badly abused and hurt just for being fat. Tell me you wouldn’t go tear-assing after the bullies and their parents and try to learn them some manners.”

“You’re damned right I’d make them learn some manners! No one hurts my little girl!”

“So why is it okay if somebody _else’s_ ‘little girl’ is hurt and abused? Why is it _that girl’s fault?_ Pualani’s family, Kealoha’s, Appleton’s – why won’t you defend _them?_ ”

Danny went still and looked at Steve for a long moment. “What’s this about, Steve?”

Steve let go of him and sat back. “It’s about you being okay with people getting hurt just because they’re fat.”

“ _Back_ that tugboat on up, son, ‘cause I will tell you right now – I am _not_ okay with innocent people being hurt and killed.”

“Except they weren’t ‘innocent’ to you! You _judged_ them, Danny! You judged them and found them guilty of the _unwritten_ social crime of being _fat!_ That’s why you’ve been taking potshots at Kamekona and Pualani. That’s why you thought it was _okay_ to make fat cracks!”

Danny grimaced and looked away.

“Hey, so, since it’s okay: your dad’s put on some weight in his older years,” Steve goaded. “He’s gotten paunchy. Why don’t you call him up and mock him for his weight gain?”

Danny glared at his partner.

“No? Okay. So, here’s the deal: someone might be targeting fat people, specifically fat women. Now, if you can’t keep your bigotry under control, I’m gonna have to take you off the case.”

“Hold up! I am _not_ a—”

“Bigot? Okay, Danny. Then what the _fuck_ makes you think it’s okay to be so hateful to people _just_ because they’re fat?”

“It’s… I’m not being _mean_ —”

“In _your_ head, maybe. To everyone else, you are saying some _very ugly things_.”

Danny’s scowl deepened.

Steve sighed and the anger throttled back visibly. He gave his friend a concerned look. “I don’t understand you, Danny. You’re the one that openly feels bad for victims, usually; hurts for them and their families – so why not these victims?”

Danny flinched again. He looked away… and then, slammed his fist onto his own leg, muttered “Fuck!” and bolted out of the car.

Steve quickly turned off the engine and scrambled after him, pocketing the keys. He stood by the front of the Camaro, hands stuck in his pockets, as he observed Daniel for a few moments. His partner had stalked away across the grass toward a picnic table, paused, paced back and forth for a few moments, and then seemed to slump in defeat. He climbed up to perch on top of a picnic table, his feet on the bench and elbows on his knees as he stared out over the canal that ran past the park. He was chafing his hands slowly as he stared and thought; a sure sign that he was deeply upset and feeling the need to cleanse himself of his thoughts.

Sighing, Steve pulled his hands from his pockets and made his way over to the perch Danny had chosen.

Danny didn’t turn to look at him, even though he was aware of Steve’s arrival. He continued to sit and stare and chafe. Still, he didn’t say anything; didn’t demand that Steve fuck off, didn’t do anything – not even when Steve inched a little closer and put one hand on the picnic table.

Taking that as a sign of tolerance, Steve delicately settled himself on the end of the picnic table and mimicked Danny’s pose.

They sat in silence for several moments as Steve tried to find a way to start Danny talking.

“There was this girl,” Danny said, eventually, and Steve let out a quiet sigh of relief that his partner had taken the responsibility from him. He looked over at Danny, who was still staring out at the scenery with a miserable expression on his face.

“There was this girl, back in my ‘hood,” Danny said, shrugging his shoulders. “Her name was Jenny – Jennifer Corby. She was one of the outcasts, ya know? Overweight, wore glasses, preferred books and nerd things to all the popular cool kids shit, was socially awkward. She couldn’t catch a damn break. Somebody always had somethin’ to say to her.” Danny sighed and shook his head. “One of her nicknames was Porky Corby – for the rhyme, yeah?”

Steve swallowed hard. “Yeah, I follow.”

“I didn’t… really think anything about it. I knew it bothered her, but I figured: Hey, don’t like it? Lose weight. Can’t be that hard; people do it all the time.”

Steve gave a little nod. “Okay.”

“Yeah, so, I didn’t… I didn’t really do a _lot_ to her, just said a few things, and I wouldn’t get in on the pranks – ‘cause if my folks found out, I’d have gotten beat halfway to Sunday,” said Danny. He looked down at his hands, which were now curled around each other tight. “I didn’t… I didn’t stop to think about _her_.”

Steve cautiously reached over. When he wasn’t rebuffed, he gripped his friend’s shoulder. “Danny, you were a kid.”

Danny shook his head. “We were teenagers. We were in _junior high_ , for God’s sake. Old enough to know better… to _do something_.”

He sighed and put his palms to his face, his shoulders hunching. Steve, hurting for his friend, scooted closer to provide the sense of shelter and support.

Danny got himself under control and lowered his hands. He blinked rapidly, cleared his throat, and said, “I never bothered to ask, to get to know anything about her. I was focused on what I wanted in my life. I didn’t interact with her ‘cause it wasn’t cool, y’know? Nobody hung out with the ‘loser’ kids and she was one of ‘em. I didn’t think anything was wrong because she was badgered so often and always yelled back. But nothing ever happened and the teachers didn’t wanna be referees, so….”

Steve put his hand to Danny’s back; patted once, twice, and then rubbed gently.

“It was… we were on a field trip. We’d gone to the Newark Museum. The chaperones were trying to decide where to take us for lunch; museum café? Or someplace else? And some of the kids decided to rip into Jenny. They started talking smack; saying how the choice of eating place had to be somewhere with plenty of food so she wouldn’t oink with sadness about being so hungry, and shit like that. They kept going and going about it.”

Steve frowned. “Where were the adults?”

Danny snorted. “They were right there. There was some half-hearted ‘Okay, that’s enough’ and ‘Guys, behave,’ but they weren’t really trying. They weren’t gonna step in until a physical fight broke out. She saw them, too. Jenny was looking around, tears falling down her face. I remember her _eyes_ , Steven. I can see it now, plain as day: looking at all of us gathered around and she was thinking ‘Why won’t anybody make them stop? Why won’t anyone _help_ me? Won’t _anybody_ help me?’”

His throat closed on a click and Steve rubbed his back again.

Danny let out a shuddering sigh and shook his head. “One of the chaperones finally stepped in when Jenny looked like she was about to have a meltdown. She chewed us out – I hadn’t said anything, but I’d laughed – and lectured us about being nice and appropriate behavior in public, but it didn’t really make an impact.” Danny swallowed. “Not like the truck Jenny stepped in front of.”

Steve’s fingers clenched against Danny’s back and he bowed his head.

“She… Jenny had just… had enough. She started walking away toward the major road we were near. Some of the kids teased her about ‘Awww, your widdle feelings hurt?’ The chaperone, she tried to call Jenny back and then went after her. But Jenny was watching the traffic and there was this delivery truck, just barreling down the road on its route. She waited until it was right there and then walked in front of it when it was too late for the truck to stop. We all screamed, scattered… the chaperone – Mrs. Berman. I can still see the horror on her face as she screamed for help, for an ambulance, while the truck went out of control and overturned. Mostly, though, I still see Jenny’s eyes just before she walked away. She had pretty eyes, Steve. They were covered by glasses, for the most part, but they were pretty. They weren’t so pretty after that truck was finished with her. I couldn’t stop looking at the pulpy mess of her in the road and realizing that she was… that she’d thought it was the only option she had.”

Danny swallowed hard and lifted his head to look out over the scenery again.

“I was so _pissed_ , ya know? I was angry at _Jenny_. I guess I’ve stayed angry at her. We all got talkings to, lectures, and there was even talk about charges being brought up somehow ‘cause we basically drove her to die. Jenny’s mother came in to our class and went mental on us. She screamed at us; cussed us out and called us monsters, crying, before she got escorted off school grounds. And all I could think was: ‘If she’d just lost weight, she wouldn’t have had to do that’. All I could think about Jenny was: ‘Why didn’t you just lose weight? Instead of making _us_ look bad, why didn’t you make _yourself_ look good?’”

Steve sighed. “It doesn’t work like that, Danny.”

Danny shook his head. “I get it and I don’t get it, okay? I mean… I don’t see why anyone would _want_ to be fat when they _know_ it’s just gonna get ‘em made fun of. But on the other hand…”

“On the other hand, you became a cop because you can’t stand injustice, so you _know_ no one has the right to do this to anyone just because of body weight – or any other reason.”

Danny sighed and rubbed his palms over his face. “Yeah. So, I got this irrational anger, this resentment, at fat people for not doing what they can to protect themselves from the assholes of the world.” He looked up at the sky, his expression bleak. “Only it turns out, I _am_ one of those assholes. You were right, Steven.”

“Hey! Hey.” Steve got up and moved to stand in front of his friend. He took hold of Danny’s shoulders and shook gently. “Danny! Danny? Hey – look at me. Come on.” When Danny had, he nodded. “Okay. Yeah, you’ve been acting like an asshole. I get where you’re coming from: a bunch of mixed up things from when you were a kid. But you’re grown, now, with a kid of your own. You’re smart, you’re a good cop, and you _care_ about keeping people safe, Danny. So I know you know better and I know you’ve got this. I know you can do this and not be a jerk.”

Danny sighed again and closed his eyes. “Jesus, Steve. If Grace knew…”

“No.” Steve squeezed his shoulders. “Don’t make this about Gracie. Make this about the victims, okay? They deserve for you to feel bad for them without you being ashamed of what your daughter would think of you.”

Danny was silent for a few moments. Then, he nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. My issues got issues, but... you’re right. Those women – if they were poisoned and, yeah, Max is most likely right – didn’t deserve this, no matter what. I’m gonna be a _cop_ , dammit. I’m gonna make sure this doesn’t happen to anybody else. I’ll work on not being a judgmental bastard later.”

Steve smiled and smoothed his hand over Danny’s hair. “Does this mean that when I—?”

Danny lifted his gaze to glare at the taller man and pointed a finger in Steve’s face. “ _No_. Okay? _No_ , McGarrett. I will _always_ judge you when you go charging into a hot zone without _waiting for back-up_ , as per usual!”

“C’mon, Danno: how many times do I have to say it? You _are_ the back-up!”

“You make my head _hurt_ , Steven – do you know that?”

Steve grinned at him and whacked him gently on the shoulder. “Good thing you keep stashes of Ibuprofen wherever you go. Now, come on.” He frowned when Danny stayed right where he was. “Danny?”

Danny took a deep breath and then said, “Look, I’ll be honest, okay? A lot of this is me not wanting you to be disappointed in me—“

“Danny—“

“—but!” Danny held up a hand, asking for quiet. “ _But_ , Steven, I also don’t wanna be _that guy_ ; that _cop_. Okay? I’ve got serious thinking to do, ideas to rearrange, but I just… I want you to know that I really want this so neither one of us will be disappointed in me.”

“You—“ Steve stopped; blew out a breath and marshaled his thoughts. “Okay, yeah. Danny, listen to me, alright? I admit it: I’m disappointed. I never thought you might be prejudiced against regular people based on looks. Prejudiced against criminals, terrorists – sure; bad guys, definitely! But not this. Not people who are just going about their lives, living ‘em different from the way you live yours. You’ve always gone to bat for the ones being picked on. Hell, Danno – I had to talk down Captain Laemoa at HPD after you decked one of his officers for laughing and saying that girl was ‘asking for it’ because of what she was wearing.”

“Because she _wasn’t_ , McGarrett!”

“I _know_ that, Danny! It was an example! Okay? So, ‘cause some people are ‘wearing’ a few extra pounds, suddenly _they’re_ asking for it? That’s why I’m disappointed, Danno – because I never thought you were a hypocrite until now.”

Danny bit his lip and looked away.

Steve took hold of his shoulders again and shook gently. “But, hey – I don’t think you’re a bad guy, Danny. I never could. I think you have some outdated thoughts in that shellacked head of yours and I know you wanna be someone you can look at in the mirror. I _know_ that. So now you have all this awareness, I know – I _believe you_ – when you say you’re gonna update those thoughts. I know you, Danny. Remember? I know you. I got all the faith in the world in you, Danny. Okay?”

Daniel groaned and caught hold of Steve, pulling the taller man closer for a hug. Steve stumbled forward and put a knee up on the bench, and then leaned into the hug, holding onto his partner.

Danny sighed and tucked his face against Steve’s shoulder as he held on hard.

When they finally let go of each other, Steve ducked down and surprised his partner with a quick kiss to his lips. He gave Danny a hopeful smile as he said, “You and me, Danny, huh?”

Danny blinked at him for a moment, and then tried to smile back. “You and me, Steve.” He gave a short laugh and caught hold of the other man’s hips and held on. “Your timing sucks, babe.” 

Steve grinned. “I’ll see what I can do about that later. For now…?”

Danny nodded. “Yeah… later. For now – let’s get to work.”

He climbed down off the picnic table and went with Steve back to the Camaro, McGarrett’s warmth a comforting presence pressed against his arm as they walked. 

 

*~*~*~*

 

The next day was spent in a flurry of information sharing.

“Okay, so here’s what we have,” Kono said, and flicked pictures of the deceased women from the Surface Table to the monitors nearby. “Pualani Tupuola, age 34, Honolulu native. Area, cultural, and ethnics educator focusing on Polynesian/Hawai’ian people. Recent history of thyroid problems; not-so-recent history of high blood pressure, no drug history, no alcohol history. Was attempting to lose weight. I asked Kamekona if he knew of anything she might have eaten that was different, but he said he didn’t know anything about it. In fact, he’d tried to give Pualani her favorite flavor of shave ice, but she refused because she didn’t feel good. That’s why he went to check up on her and found her the way he did.”

Nods were given all around and then Chin spoke up.

“Next up is Makamae Kealoha; 23, student at University of Hawai’i in the nursing program. Worked at Ono Hawaiian Food, but lost her job recently. No drug history, no alcohol history. Family said she was stressed both by the loss of the job and by a recent break-up with her boyfriend. Said boyfriend seemed upset about her death, but more because he’d been planning to get back with her since he needed money and she would have given it to him. Oh, the reason he dumped her in the first place? He wanted her to lose weight, which she agreed to, but it wasn’t happening fast enough. He said she was just too big and he needed something easier to grab onto.”

“Nice,” Steve drawled, though his tone venomous.

“What a prince, right?” Danny agreed.

“And here’s Tiffany Appleton from Bailey’s Harbor, Wisconsin,” Kono said, pointing at the large woman with bottle-blonde hair and a cheerful smile on screen. “Age 42, telemarketer for Greyman Insurance, on blood pressure meds and Zoloft, single with two cats, comfortable range of good friends. No drug history, no alcohol history, not a party type of gal; would rather stay home and read a book than go out. She was staying at the Kahala Hotel and Resort so she could do the dolphin lagoon thing.”

“So, the only solid connection between the three is that they’re all fat women?” Danny asked.

“Looks that way, brah,” agreed Chin. “All fat, all women, and all of them here on Oahu.”

“Alright. Have we heard back from Max, yet?” Steve asked.

“We have,” Danny said, pulling up the report with a few taps on the table. “His hunch was spot-on; the culprit is… azalea poisoning! Looks like whoever’s doing this is juicing the azalea leaves and whatever else to make an easy-to-swallow liquid. Azalea, if ingested – and apparently you don’t need a lot of it – causes copious drooling, a burning sensation in the mouth, diarrhea, and lethal cardiovascular effects as well as aspiration pneumonia! Well, that’s lovely.”

“Wait, look,” said Kono, leaning over to point at the file. “Tox found other things in all three?”

“Yeah – looks like traces of banana, milk, and tropical fruits?”

All four of them looked at each other in a flash of understanding.

“Smoothies.”

 

*~*~*

 

The team split up to go investigate the various areas in which the women who died might have ingested a smoothie. They took pictures of the women to the known food shops that sold smoothies, trying to catch the break they needed. Pualani and Kealoha were recognized and news of their passing came as a shock to shop proprietors, but nothing else shook loose.

And then, Max called Steve’s cellphone.

“Yeah, Max, whaddya got for us?” Steve prompted, gesturing for Danny to follow as he led the way back to the Camaro.

 _“With the certainty that a poisoner is at work, I instructed a friend of mine who works in the ER at Queens Medical Center to be on the lookout for certain symptoms,”_ Max explained. _”A husband and wife couple were just admitted with the required symptoms for azalea poisoning.”_

“That sucks, but good job, Max! Thanks.” Steve hung up the call as he and Danny got in the car. “Call Chin; tell him that a husband and wife couple were just brought into Queens with azalea symptoms.”

“Right,” Danny said, pulling out his phone. “What does he do?”

“Tell him to get to headquarters. You and I are gonna go see if we can get some information, but I want him ready to crack surveillance cameras.”

Danny relayed the information as Steve peeled into traffic. After a few moments, he hung up and said, “He and Kono are heading back to base.”

Steve nodded and concentrated on threading through traffic while Danny did his level best to not have a panic attack at the possibility of vehicular death.

Arriving in Queens, they found a parking spot in the visitors’ lot and then ran for the ER section of the building. Flashing badges got them access up to a point, but then it became a waiting game while the couple were treated with activated charcoal and kept under watch.

Retreating to a waiting area, Steve called Kono. “A tourist couple; Mr. and Mrs. Braunwald from Oregon, staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.”

 _”Checking for surveillance videos now,”_ Kono reported. There was a few moments of silence, and then: _”Bingo! We have a winner. There’s a – huh; no wonder we couldn’t find anything. It’s a **truck** , Steve. ‘Sammie’s Smoothie’s’, with an ‘ie’ on both words. White, but that’s all I can see. No video of the driver, no angle on the license plate.”_

“Shouldn’t be too hard to find in a registry with a name like that.”

_”Right? I’ll call back when I have any news – unless you’re coming back to base?”_

“No, we’re gonna stick around here. Might be a couple of hours, but the sooner we can get any info…”

_”Right. Chin and I’ll be in touch.”_

Steve hung up the call and turned to Danny, who looked back at him with a faux-pleasant expression.

“And now the game of ‘Hurry Up and Wait’!” Danny said, his tone forcibly cheerful.

Steve gave him a _look_. “Don’t start, Danno – it isn’t my fault!”

“Did I _say_ it was your fault? No, I did not! I just said—“

“Daniel!”

Danny raised his hands and turned to go find some coffee while Steve asked the staff at the nurse’s station to please let them know when they could speak with Mr. and Mrs. Braunwald.

Forty-five minutes later, Chin called back.

 _”Kono went to Kahala to check things out and found that a smoothie truck is there every Tuesday and Thursday, but it’s blue instead of white. Also, the name of it is_ Aikane Mai’a _.”_

“’Friendly Banana’,” Steve translated for Danny, who rolled his eyes in response.

 _”You got it,”_ Chin agreed. _”Haven’t got any pictures of the driver on camera, but it’s apparently driven by a slender white woman with black hair, a long nose, and according to one of the security guards that frequents the truck: a fantastic pair of… well.”_

Danny snorted. “So, we’re looking for a haole female?”

 _”Most likely, though it is possible she’s like Steve in that she’s had family here for a few generations. I’m still banking on haole, though. As for me, I found out that the truck Pualani purchased from is a red truck with the name_ Tropic Smooth _and is driven by a brown-haired woman with a scar on one cheek and typically dressed in a polo and khakis. Again, the report comes back that she’s white, slender and built fine.”_

Steve frowned. “Alright; good work, Chin. Any luck on that _Sammie’s Smoothies_ truck?”

_”It’s registered under the name ‘Akamai Kaialani’, but the last renewal on the license was four years ago.”_

“So, either stolen or identity fraud,” Steve guessed.

“I’d go with that last one more than the first,” Danny suggested. “Either there’s a team of women going around murdering people or our culprit is wearing disguises.”

_”Yeah. I’ll keep digging. You two talked with the Braunwalds yet?”_

“No, but I think we’re about to,” Steve muttered as a nurse approached them. “Thanks, Chin.”

He hung up the call and he and Danny rose to their feet to meet the nurse coming toward them.

“Mr. Braunwald is awake,” she said, “but the doctor is with him now. You’ll have to wait a few minutes.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, that’s great – thanks.”

They settled back into their seats and waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

“Is hospital time a different dimension of time than the rest of the world?” Danny wanted to know. “Unless you come in with an obvious new orifice that’s leaking necessary and valuable fluid, you end up in some limbo of waiting around that they routinely label ‘a few minutes’.”

Steve gave Danny an irritated glower. “C’mon, man – you know as well as I do that hospital staffs are regularly understaffed and underfunded. They’re doing the best they can.”

Danny grimaced. “Yeah, I know. Just… we’re close. Always makes me itch, ya know?”

Steve jostled his leg against Danny’s. He smiled when Danny blinked and then relaxed against him.

“I know,” he said, his voice quiet and warm.

Danny turned his face away, but not before Steve saw the small smile curling his lips.

By the time the nurse returned to collect them, another forty-five minutes had passed. Danny didn’t say a word as he got to his feet.

The two men followed her to a room where the husband and wife couple was being kept. Mrs. Braunwald was still unconscious, but Mr. Braunwald was sitting up a bit. He was a chalky color beneath a tourist’s sunburn and his skin was clammy. He blinked myopically at Steve and Danny as they entered.

“Mr. Braunwald?” Steve prompted.

The man nodded and swallowed hard, wincing a little. “That’s me: Bernard Braunwald. Friends call me Bernie.” He swallowed again, glanced at his wife, and then returned his attention to Steve. “What happened to us?”

“Mr. Braunwald, I’m Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett and this is Detective Danny Williams,” Steve murmured. “We’re with 5-0; the Governor’s task force. We have reason to believe you and your wife were poisoned.”

Braunwald’s eyes widened dramatically. His throat flexed as he tried to speak and simultaneously fight back nausea. He won the battle against illness and squeaked out, “ _Poisoned?_ ”

“Yes, sir,” Danny said, stepping forward to the foot of his bed. “Did you and your wife purchase smoothies from a local vendor truck earlier?”

“Well… not _me_ ,” Bernie muttered. “Lenore wanted one; it was advertising some sale on a low-fat tropical blend thing that promised to be the most ‘ono’ thing we ever had. She got a large, but couldn’t finish it all, so I took the rest; just trying to help, you know.”

“Ha…”

All three men looked over and found Lenore awake, having come to while Bernie was talking. That prompted a call to the nurse’s station and soon a nurse and doctor were in the room and Steve and Danny had to step out for a bit, but were eventually allowed back in. Mrs. Braunwald was clearly very sick, still, but she’d insisted on staying awake to talk to them.

“Don’t let him fool you,” Lenore told Steve and Danny with a scowl. Her voice was raspy and she looked just as pale and clammy as her husband. The whites of her eyes were red from broken capillaries caused by the physical stress she’d endured and she was shivering. “I may have gotten the smoothie, but _he_ was the one who pointed it out in the first place because of that tramp!”

Danny’s eyebrows went up and he exchanged a look with Steve before refocusing on Lenore. “I’m sorry – tramp?”

She made a face. “Yeah. Some skinny, pretty blonde thing in a bikini top and shorts combo. Boobs out to here.” She held her hands out from her own ample breasts, and then did the ‘tucked in waist and curvy hips’ outline thing over her large belly and hips. “The perfect figure, you know? Just what a guy always wants.”

Bernard’s mouth tightened and he looked away.

Lenore snorted, and then winced. She held a hand to her head for a moment. When she felt well enough, she said, “She leaned out of that truck as we were approaching and Bernie’s eyes just about popped out and took a trip around the planet with how hard he was eyeballing her.”

“I wasn’t!” Bernard protested.

Lenore’s lip curled. “You were practically drooling! You were just about panting like a dog!”

“I—“

“Hey! Hey! Braunwalds!” Danny cut in, making the time-out T with his hands. They looked at him. “Marriage counseling later, if you please? We’re trying to stop a murderer.”

The married couple looked at him, stricken.

“Murderer?” Bernard croaked. “We almost – we were nearly murdered?”

Steve nodded while Danny sighed and said, “Yeah, unfortunately. But we’re gonna stop her. We need as many details as you can remember.”

The details didn’t amount to much more than they’d already given: a gorgeous blonde woman had enticed the couple to her, offered a free sample, and once Lenore was hooked she’d handed over a large cup of the tangy tropical smoothie to Lenore along with a flirtatious smile for Bernie. Hours later, Lenore had begun throwing up and Bernie hadn’t been feeling too hot himself.

“Alright,” Steve murmured, “thank you for your time. We’ll be in touch if we have any further questions.” Danny handed over a card to Lenore, who took it with a shaking hand. “If you think of anything else that you think might help, contact that number.”

The Braunwalds agreed and Steve and Danny left their room before they were witness to anymore marital spats.

When they got back to Iolani Palace, they made their way straight to 5-0 headquarters and the Surface Table, which prompted Chin and Kono to come out of their offices.

“Okay, so here’s what we have,” Steve said as his team gathered around. “Today, Bernard and Lenore Braunwald purchased from a white vending truck called ‘Sammie’s Smoothies’. Lenore said the vendor was a gorgeous blonde woman with the ‘perfect’ figure. Bernard said that the smoothie was advertised as low-fat and on sale. Any similarities?”

Kono shook her head. “The only similarity is that the vendor is a gorgeous woman with a ‘perfect’ figure.” Her lip curled in a sneer. “Nothing about smoothie sales on low-fat options to attract customers.”

Chin grimaced. “Same. The red truck is operated by a gorgeous woman with a nice figure, but that – and it being a smoothie truck – is where the similarities end.”

Danny plugged in the new information and said, “I maintain that this is a one woman act and she’s wearing disguises. Do the red and blue trucks also have lapsed licenses?”

“The red, yeah, but the blue one is up-to-date,” Kono explained. “It’s registered to a Rachel Quinn.”

Danny grimaced at the name.

Chin tapped on the table and information came up soon after. “Recent transplant from the mainland; been living here almost seven months. She works for… huh; okay, so the smoothie thing is either a secondary gig or it’s just in place so she can poison people – otherwise, she works as a data clerk for a local shipping company.”

He swiped towards the monitors and the information came up on the big screen near the table.

Danny whistled at the photo identification. The blonde woman in the picture was slender, had a beautiful face by modern day standards, and there was enough of her body in the picture to show that Lenore’s description of her had been accurate.

Steve glanced at him, but said nothing.

“Here’s what I don’t get,” Kono muttered, crossing her arms and leaning against the table. “There’ve been only three deaths, so far, and now the Braunwalds have been poisoned. Why so few? There’s plenty of big people here on the island and smoothies are popular.”

“Spacing it out, maybe?” Chin suggested. “Trying not to draw attention to what’s going on too soon – and she knows she’s doing something wrong or she wouldn’t bother with disguises.”

“Or she only just got the idea to do it,” Danny offered up. “The whole ‘kill the fatties’ thing may be a recent snap of sanity.”

“More like a snap of decency,” Steve muttered. “I don’t get the feeling she’s nuts – just bigoted.”

He and Danny shared a look for a few moments before Danny turned his face away.

“Chin,” Steve prompted, “has the white truck been around anywhere else today?”

Chin shook his head. “I checked camera feeds around the area and followed the trail, but she disappeared not too long after she poisoned the Braunwalds. According to the guy I spoke to, she never sticks around long – which is one of the things that stood out about her for him. He wondered how she made any money when she only stayed in place for a couple of hours.”

“Nobody said anything about her length of stay in a vending spot to me,” said Kono, “but I’d be willing to bet it’s the same thing.”

“So she stays until she lures in a victim and then goes to ground,” Danny surmised.

“Reads that way to me,” Kono agreed.

“Do we have a current address for her?” asked Steve.

“She’s on… Ward Avenue,” Chin answered a moment later. “1420, from the looks of it.”

“Alright. Danny?”

“Let’s go.”

They headed back out into Honolulu.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Trying to get Rachel Quinn at her apartment on Ward Avenue hadn’t panned out. The place was occupied by a squatter; a family, actually, of about seven people all crammed into a one bed, one bath apartment. If Quinn had ever been there, she’d moved out and failed to notify anyone about her change of address.

The next day being a Tuesday, though, meant the blue truck would be up near Kahala Hotel and Resort.

Steve and Danny sat in the air-conditioned comfort of the Camaro to wait for the arrival of the smoothie truck. Chin and Kono were in her car, also keeping comfortable, waiting to move in if they needed help.

Steve glanced over at Danny and found the other man looking pensive. “Somethin’ on your mind, Danno?”

A brief flash of annoyance at the name crossed Danny’s face, but then faded. He’d long ago given up trying to get Steve to leave Gracie’s for-him name alone.

“Just… thinkin’,” Danny replied. He huffed an unamused laugh. “Trying to figure out how I’m gonna word my apology to Kamekona.”

Steve put his hand on Danny’s shoulder and squeezed; a comforting gesture. “Just speak it from the heart, man – you know he’ll hear it.”

Danny sighed. “Yeah. Just… I really hate what I’ve found out about myself, Steven. I thought… I thought I was a good guy, ya know?”

“Hey. _Hey_. Danny, look at me.” Steve shifted to face his best friend, grateful when Daniel did turn to look at him. “Danny, you _are_ a good guy – and like other basically good people, you have a few rough patches. Doesn’t mean you’re not good enough, it just means you’re human.”

Danny grimaced. “C’mon, man.”

“No, really. I’d have thought – yeah, I’d have – you know, if you’d just accepted this part of you and thought that it was _okay_ to think like that about people, but look at you, Danny! You’re genuinely upset that you’ve hurt Kamekona; that you’ve been mean about a group of innocent people. And not just because of what Gracie would think about you, or me, or Chin or Kono, but because you feel bad about it on your own.”

“But that I thought this way _at all_ —“

“And probably will for a while,” Steve agreed, and Danny looked away. “Thinking like that doesn’t change overnight. We both know it. But the fact that you don’t want to keep thinkin’ like that means a lot, Danny, in the grand scheme of things.”

Danny heaved a sigh. “It’s… it’s _disgusting_ , okay? It’s _disgusting_ to me that I share that kind of thinking with a _murderer_ ; a serial killer. Whatever! Just… it’s horrifying, Steven.”

“I think it’s okay to kill whenever I think there’s reasonable cause,” Steve said bluntly, and Danny stared at him, wide-eyed. “A lot of people would argue that that makes me a murderer.”

“Wha— _no_ ,” Danny protested, appalled. “No, it does _not_. You are a loose cannon that is turning me prematurely gray – seriously, McGarrett; Clairol doesn’t _make_ enough product to cover the damage you’re doing to my hair! – and your refusal to learn due process and Miranda continually drives me up a wall, but you’re not a _murderer_. You believe in using your skills to _protect_ people! Sure, you choose the easiest path via the nearest weapon available, but that’s a product of your training in the SEALs, not because you just want to cause massive amounts of pain and death!”

“I do, though, sometimes,” Steve confessed. “Whenever we come up against someone who’s just _evil_ … someone who gets off on hurting and killing innocent people, I _enjoy_ giving that back to them.”

Danny grimaced. “I understand where you’re coming from. But that’s not… you’re not evil yourself, Steve. You’re just not.”

“And neither are you,” Steve countered. “Do you hear me, Danny? Just because you’ve got a certain attitude – one you are trying to keep in check or change entirely – doesn’t mean you’re a complete asshole. You always give your best, man. You always try to help and I’m proud of you. I know I don’t say it a lot—“

“You mean ‘ever’,” Danny muttered, marveling over what he just heard.

“—but I’m really proud of you and the work you do,” Steve continued. His expression was soft and warm as he smiled at Danny. “You’re an excellent cop, Daniel – one of the best I’ve ever seen. It’s why I tagged you for 5-0; I knew you’d get the job done or die trying.”

“I’d like to avoid the dying bit,” Danny joked. He fidgeted a little. “Really, though?”

“Really,” Steve murmured, stroking his hand down Danny’s arm from shoulder to wrist. He did it two more times, and then simply let his fingers curl around Danny’s wrist, his fingertips resting over the pulse point. “You’re a great cop, a wonderful father to Gracie, and the best friend I’ve ever had. You’re… I don’t know what I’d do without you, Danno. You’re a snarky little shit most of the time, you argue a lot and talk even more, and every day I can hardly wait to see you.”

Danny stared at Steve, his cheeks a little pink and his blue eyes soft with amazement. After a moment, he cleared his throat and said, “You, uh… you kind of make me crazy on a daily basis, you know? You’re so fucking annoying, Steven. You _annoy_ me in ways I didn’t know I could be annoyed. And… I… um. Me, too. You know.”

Steve grinned. “No, Daniel, I don’t know. Gonna have to spell it out for me, babe.”

Danny jerked his wrist away from Steve so he could point a finger at the other man. “That! This! This right here! Do you see what I mean? _Annoying!_ ”

“Yeah, but you love me, anyway,” Steve replied, casual and unconcerned.

Danny opened his mouth… and then, shut it and looked away.

Steve’s grin widened. “Hey, Danny?”

Danny glanced at him.

“Me, too,” Steve said, his tone soft and affectionate.

Danny swallowed hard. “Even though I’m a bigot?”

Steve chuckled. “Even though. How do you feel about pre-programmed killing machines with a loose understanding of due process and Miranda?”

“Like I’m going to smack said killing machine upside the head with a copy of the police procedure manual,” Danny muttered, “and then, maybe, ya know…”

“Kiss it all better?”

Danny couldn’t help the smile stretching and curling his mouth. “Yeah, that. Goof.”

They grinned at each other, pleased with their new understanding of each other.

Danny’s phone rang a moment later and he sighed as he was pulled back into police business.

 _”Head’s up,”_ said Kono. _”Quinn’s truck is coming in.”_

“Copy that,” Danny replied. “She’s here, Steve.”

They watched as a blue food vendor truck arrived. A happily smiling and waving banana on the side accompanied the name _Aikane Mai’a_ in tropical colors of pink and orange on the side of the truck. A hibiscus flower adorned the beginning ‘A’ of the name.

“’Friendly Banana’,” Danny muttered in disgust. “Are you _kidding me_ with this?”

Steve laughed. “’Fraid not, Danno.”

“There’s just so many things _wrong_ with that!”

“Not the least of which is the unfriendly bit about poisoning people. Okay, team – radios on. Let’s wait until she’s gotten set up, and then Danny and I will go in. Kono, you and Chin hang tight unless she makes a break for it.”

 _”Roger that, Boss,”_ Kono answered as all four of them clicked on the radio ear buds they were wearing.

Steve and Danny watched as a black-haired Rachel Quinn got set up for a few hours of work – and potential murder. She was definitely catching attention as she went about her business in a pair of tiny shorts, a bikini top, and an oversized T-shirt as a barely-there cover-up. Even as Steve and Danny watched, she made it a point to flirt with any man walking past who was in the company of a woman bearing any extra weight that softened angles and curves.

“It’s like she’s trying to prove a point,” Danny grumbled. “She’s saying to those women ‘Yeah, this is what your dude wants – not you’.”

Steve nodded. “That’s really gross.”

“Not as gross as killing them, though.”

“What say you and me go put a stop to both?”

“Lead the way, partner.”

The two of them climbed out of the Camaro and headed over to the smoothie truck. When they got to the window, Steve knocked and Quinn appeared in a moment. Her nose was longer than it should have been, her eyes were now brown instead of green, and her hair was black instead of blonde – but it was her.

“Hi, guys,” she greeted, smiling bright and angling her body enticingly. “I’m just finishing setting up. Give me a few minutes?”

Steve and Danny both held up their badges and the smile froze on her face before fading away.

“Actually, we need to talk to you,” Steve said. “I’m Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett and this is Detective Danny Williams. We’re 5-0; Governor’s Task Force. Please step out of the truck.”

Quinn bit her lip and nodded. “Be right out, sir.”

She disappeared from view and they looked at each other, nodded, and Danny went around the back of the truck to get to the other side where the entry door was while Steve began making his way toward the front.

They moved faster when the truck roared to life and jolted forward almost immediately upon ignition. 

Steve leaped and caught hold of the driver’s side mirror, scrabbling to hold on while he shouted, “ _Stop the truck! Stop right now!_ ”

On the other side, Danny had hold of the door for a brief moment and nearly made it aboard, but then Quinn drove partially over a curb and he was knocked off, hitting the pavement with a groan and rolling clear.

 _”Danny’s down!”_ Steve heard Kono yell and the information infuriated him enough to hammer a punch against the driver’s side window. Inside, Quinn yelled at him to stop that, get off, and he punched at the window again.

Chin and Kono rolled up in their car and leaped out. They ran forward, weapons out, and planted themselves directly in the path of the truck and prepared to fire if Quinn didn’t stop.

She stopped.

Barely a foot short of them, but she stopped. She sat in the driver’s seat, glaring out at them, and then flinched and turned when a noise to the right caught her attention.

Danny climbed aboard the truck and aimed his weapon at her face. “Hands _up_ , Rachel Quinn. You’re under arrest.”

Giving him a sullen glare, Quinn put her hands in the air.

 

*~*~*~*

 

“Rachel Quinn, you’re under the arrest for the murders of Makamae Kealoha, Pualani Tupuola, and Tiffany Appleton, as well as the attempted murder of Lenore Braunwald. You have the right to remain silent and the right to refuse to answer any questions…”

Steve glared down at the woman sitting handcuffed to the interrogation chair in 5-0 headquarters while Danny delivered the charges and the Miranda readings.

Rachel Quinn smirked back at him in a desultory sneer.

“Do you understand these rights as they have been explained to you?” Danny finished.

“Yeah, sure,” Quinn muttered. “Just get on with it.”

“Okay,” said Danny, “here’s what we got: we got you at three different places in three different trucks wearing two different disguises. Only one appearance is your real one. We got three dead women, one very sick woman and one very sick man. We got you at all three places and, oh yeah, when we searched your truck, we found a foreign substance that we’re very, very positive our forensics people will identify as being from an azalea plant. Said substance was found in the three dead women and the two very sick people.”

Quinn transferred her smirk to Danny. “Sounds like you got it all figured out, Detective.”

He gave her an entirely fake pleasant smile in response. “Yeah, we kinda do.”

“So what do you want from me?” she drawled.

“Any particular reason you chose to kill women of size?” Steve goaded.

Quinn rolled her eyes. “Oh, _please_ – ‘women of size’.”

Danny raised his eyebrows and exchanged glances with Steve before refocusing on her. “What? You don’t care for politically correct language?”

Quinn sneered. “As it happens, no – I really don’t. But when it comes to those fat-assed whales? _Please_.”

“Oh. Wow, okay that is… so very _not_ okay,” Danny replied. “Why would you say that?”

“You _saw_ them!” Rachel snapped. “You _saw_ them; you had to have!”

“We saw the last murder victim in the M.E.’s office after her autopsy,” Steve answered, his tone casually neutral. “We saw her dead body. And we saw the last victim and her husband in the hospital. They’re both very sick, but they’ll recover.”

“Too bad,” Quinn scoffed. “Should’ve done the world a favor like the other three and just _died_.”

Steve’s expression darkened with fury while Danny scowled.

“That is a truly horrible thing to say,” he murmured.

“No – you know what’s horrible? All that _fat_. Shit, man! How can you have _seen_ those behemoths and feel bad that they’re dead?” Quinn shuddered while making a face. “They’re better off dead and gone, where nobody has to look at them ever again.”

“Their families wouldn’t agree with you,” Danny shot back.

“Their families fucked up, too,” Quinn retorted. “If those lazy cows wouldn’t get off their fat asses and try to lose weight, their families should have _made_ them. Those bitches are better off dead.”

“That isn’t your choice to make!” Steve shouted. “It isn’t up to you or their families! They had the right to live even if they did it overweight! And now their loved ones are grieving; are hurting because they’ll never see them again!”

Quinn snorted and sat back in the chair, the cuffs rattling against the metal bars. “Bullshit. None of the rest of us deserve to have to look at that disgusting, quivering fat.” She made a gagging noise. “Jesus! They should have taken pride in themselves! How could they do that to their bodies?”

“Ahhhh… because those _were_ their bodies?” Danny prompted. “Again: they had the right to live however they wanted even if you didn’t agree. They already suffered enough verbal abuse from assholes like you—“

“Not nearly enough if it didn’t motivate them,” Rachel retorted. “Oh, boo-hoo – their feelings got hurt? Tough shit! If they didn’t want anybody to say anything, they should’ve just lost weight!”

Danny barely held back a flinch. Those words hit far too close to home.

“The problem is that you didn’t say anything,” Steve growled, taking over. “You just killed them. Why? You’ve been in Hawai’i for nearly a year, so why start now?”

Quinn snorted and looked away. “I was minding my own damned business, you know? Out getting groceries and the store had a taste testing station setting up with burgers or something greasy. Next thing I know, I get knocked out of the way by this hungry cow; all that fat pressed up against me as she’s hurrying to get to the food. It was _disgusting_.” She gagged again. “All I could think of was destroying her. And then I figured that if they want food that bad, it’ll be the last thing they ever have.”

“You started killing fat people – specifically women – because one of them accidentally brushed up against you?” Steve extrapolated, incredulous.

“No – she _crushed me_ with her disgusting _fat_ ,” Rachel snapped. “That… I can still _feel it_ … all that squishy, blobby… ugh!”

“Yeah, well, if I were you, I’d keep that kind of opinion to myself,” Steve said, bending to un-cuff her from the chair. “The ladies in prison won’t take it very well.”

Quinn rolled her eyes as she was prodded to her feet and her wrists cuffed together again. “Whatever.”

Steve sneered at her, but he met Danny’s gaze. “I got this, D. Go on and get out of here.”

Danny sighed. “You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Danny nodded and turned to go.

“Awww,” Rachel crooned, her tone dulcet with sweet malice. “You’re so sweet to your boyfriend!”

Danny turned to glare at her. “He’s a goddamned peach to me and so help me if you say one more word about it, I will _not_ stop him from going SEAL on you. I usually do, see; my thing around here is riding herd on Loose Cannon McGarrett and making sure he behaves in a semi-civilized manner. Say something, anything, and I will slip the chain on him, get me? And if you think that just because you’re a woman will stop him, then you better think again. He’s an equal-gender pain deliverance kind of guy.”

Quinn stared at Danny for a few moments, but then she pointedly shut her mouth and gave him a mulish glare.

Danny scoffed wordlessly and walked away.

“You hear that?” Steve prompted, grinning. “He thinks I’m a _peach_.”

Rachel Quinn rolled her eyes and didn’t say a word.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Kamekona scowled when he responded to the knock on his shrimp truck and found Danny waiting outside.

“Here to say somethin’ else about my niece?” he demanded, his tone promising pain if Danny said the wrong thing.

Danny shook his head. “No, man. I’m here to apologize.”

Kamekona stared at him for a moment, and then disappeared. The truck rocked as he exited the vehicle and he came around to confront Danny, his arms crossed over his chest.

Danny took a deep breath, held it, and then sighed. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to say this, but Steve said I should just say it from the heart. So, here goes: Everything I’ve said about Pualani and you and the other victims has been shameful and wrong. I was… I wasn’t just a jerk; I was being an insensitive bully. I didn’t really acknowledge it before, but I have now and I want you to know I intend to do better – to be better than this. None of them or you deserved the disrespect and I’m sorry for having given it. From the bottom of my heart, Kamekona, I am sincerely sorry for the disrespect I gave your niece and you, and I’m sorry for the loss you’ve suffered.”

Kamekona was silent for a few moments. Then, his wrathful expression melted and tears glimmered in his eyes as he dropped the defensive stance and lurched forward to engulf Danny in a breath-stealing hug.

Danny groaned, but he hugged back as best he could given that his arms were mostly pinned down.

“Thanks, brah,” Kamekona sniffled, and Danny cringed to realize the other man was truly crying. “That really means a lot to me, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed, wheezing a bit. He patted Kamekona. “I’m just… really sorry, man.”

“Heard it the first time, bruddah. We cool.”

They hugged for a few more moments, and then Kamekona released Danny who sucked in a few frantic gasps of air. Kamekona grinned at him and slapped a heavy hand down on Danny’s back, making him grunt and stagger.

“You catch the buggah yet?” Kamekona asked.

Danny cleared his throat. “Yeah, we caught her.”

Kamekona’s eyes widened. “ _Her?_ Was a _lady?_ ”

“Yeah. We caught her, she confessed, and we’ll make sure she goes to prison for it, big guy. That good?”

Kamekona’s expression sagged with sadness. He drew a hitching breath. “Yeah. Yeah, ‘s good. I mean… you guys really came through, you know? Mahalo, bruddah.”

Danny smiled. “You’re welcome… _brah_.”

Kamekona’s answering smile was blinding.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Much later, as the sun was setting, Danny went to the McGarrett house and took the invitation of the open front door – though he did knock once inside and call out his presence.

Steve didn’t answer, so Danny headed for the lanai at the back and, yep, there Steve was down in his usual chair. He was an easy-to-spot silhouette in the light of the pink-gold sunset light that glinted off the beer bottle dangling from his left hand.

Danny smiled and ambled down to join him.

Steve tensed and twisted to look around when he heard Danny walking up behind him. He relaxed with a smile. “Hey, Danno.”

Danny snorted and took his usual seat. “Hey.” He accepted the beer that Steve held out to him. “Thanks.”

“Sure.” Steve took a pull from his own beer bottle. “Got a call from Kamekona thanking me for catching the killer.”

Danny nodded. “Yeah.”

“He also wanted to know what I’d done to pull your head out of your ass and make you man up about your behavior.” Steve grinned at the stink-eye Danny gave him. “Not in those precise words.”

“I’ll bet,” Danny replied, his tone acerbic. He sighed. “Yeah, I apologized. Told him you’d advised me to speak from the heart, so I did. I just let go and said everything I needed to say. Admitted what I’d done wrong, that I was sorry for it. Promised I’d work to get better.”

Steve smiled at Danny, letting his fondness out to play. “He hugged you, didn’t he?”

“I thought for sure he broke at least three ribs,” Danny groaned.

“Try to avoid that,” Steve teased. “He was training to be Sumo, remember? He’s as much muscle as he is fat.”

“More, I think,” Danny chuckled.

They were silent for a while as they drank their beers. The sun set, the colors of the sky shading into twilight purple and gray. Overhead, a waxing gibbous moon’s light began taking precedence as the last of the sun’s light faded away.

Steve set his empty bottle in the sand and cleared his throat, catching Danny’s attention.

“So,” he said, “about earlier…”

“I meant what I said,” Danny murmured, setting his own bottle down. “I meant every word of it, Steve.”

Steve smiled. “That’s good to know. But, I… I meant about the kiss.”

“What about it?”

“I kinda put that on you during an emotional moment.”

“Yeah, it was a little out of left field,” Danny acknowledged. He looked away for a brief moment. “You taking it back?”

“Nope. Are you?”

“I think if you don’t do it again now that I’ve got my head on straight—“

Steve was out of his chair and looming over Danny in an instant. He bent and pressed his mouth to Danny’s; his lips warm, lingering, affectionate.

“You sure?” Steve murmured, meeting Danny’s gaze squarely.

“If you can stand me,” Danny replied, and pushed Steve back so he could stand up. “If you can stand me being me—“

They kissed again, though Steve eased his grip when Danny winced.

“S’okay,” Danny muttered. “Just… Kamekona squeezed kinda hard.”

“If he bruised you badly, I’ll kill him,” Steve promised, and kissed Danny again.

Danny sputtered a laugh against Steve’s mouth. “You – oh, my God. Oh, my _God_ , what am I thinking? Huh? What am I thinking that I’m thinking about hooking up with a crazy ninja SEAL?”

“I’m hoping for more than a hook-up,” Steve confessed, beginning to lead Danny toward the house. “I’m hoping for a whole lot more than that, Danno.”

“Not while you’re trying to get into my pants,” Danny pled. “Not Grace’s nickname for me while—“

“Yeah,” Steve agreed. “Yeah, sure. You’re right.”

Danny laughed. “Oh, the hell with it. I’m in this far – why not the rest of the way?”

Steve grinned. “That’s what _she_ said.”

His laugh rang out across the beach as Danny landed a punch to his arm.

 

The End

**Author's Note:**

> MANY, MANY THANKS to popkin16 for the beta! Any remaining mistakes are my own.


End file.
